Families and friends of New Yorkers killed while biking and walking will lead the 5th Annual Memorial Ride and Walk today. Organized by the Street Memorial Project, the event includes a bike ride across three boroughs to eleven white-painted "Ghost Bikes" installed at the scene of bicyclist fatalities, and a Memorial Walk through Greenpoint, Brooklyn in honor of pedestrians killed in 2009. Cyclists and pedestrians will converge at the Greenpoint Reformed Church to dedicate a memorial to all of the unknown victims of traffic crashes in 2009.

Transportation Alternatives has tracked 65 pedestrian and 10 cycling fatalities in media reports over the past year, though these numbers do not include the many unreported incidents that will later become part of the official total. In 2008, 147 pedestrians and 25 cyclists were killed on New York City streets. Participants are demanding the City take stronger measures to reduce street fatalities through necessary improvements to street design, enforcement and education to protect non-drivers.

"Five years ago, many of us hoped this ride would no longer be necessary in 2010. But we're still here, and we still have to do this to remind our neighbors and our City that these preventable deaths keep happening all around us," says Leah Todd, a volunteer with the New York City Street Memorial Project. "Five years from now, we hope to see a magnitude of change on our streets that makes this ride a thing of the past."

"James was a wonderful part of so many lives and we miss him terribly. It hurts to know so many families are feeling the same loss as we are. It is so important that we come together to prevent these tragedies from ever happening to another family," says Linda Langergaard, whose son James Langergaard was killed biking across Queens Boulevard in August.

The Street Memorial Project seeks to cultivate a compassionate and supportive community for survivors and friends of those lost, to raise public awareness as a means to prevent future deaths and to foster mutual respect among all people who share the streets.